#avatar lore

Can we talk about young Monk Gyatso for a second? Because honestly, he is one of the best characters in the entire franchise. He’s essentially a chaotic mix of Sokka’s goofy energy and Toph’s absolute gremlin energy. He was constantly making up jokes and pranks, driving Roku completely insane.

The Chronicles of the Avatar books confirmed that this iconic phrase never existed in the Fire Nation. Gyatso literally made it up on the spot just to mess with a teenage Roku.

Look at their actual dialogue from the book

The Dedication of a Master Troll

Gyatso’s dedication was indeed unmatched. He didn't just forget about the joke; he casually brainwashed a young Aang into believing this was how actual cool people in the Fire Nation spoke.

And Aang, being the sweet, trusting kid he was, fully believed his master. When he met Kuzon, he probably threw a confident "my good hotman!" at him. Kuzon was undoubtedly baffled, but because he didn't protest, this only solidified Aang's rock-solid faith that this was the ultimate Fire Nation greeting.

The Generational Curse

The absolute beauty of this realization: Gyatso created a ridiculous greeting just to annoy Roku. A 150 years later, that exact same trolling phrase comes back around to deeply irritate Roku’s own great-grandson, Zuko.

So this "hotman" prank literally passed through generations just to end up annoying Roku's descendant. Never underestimate Monk Gyatso’s dedication to a bit.

WITH THIS IN MIND- and maybe this is just common sense and less of a theory- but I’m thinking this paste is what Tamtey put on So’lek’s face at the end of FTA (originally I thought it was just paint). If this is in fact the case and Tamtey surpassed Ri’nela, who is confirmed to be the clan’s tsahìk, and performed this ritual themselves, I feel like that just confirms that there is a deeper connection between So’lek and Tamtey.

Is it explained anywhere (like in the comics for instance) why Kiri doesn't fight? Like, she's older than Lo'ak, how is it that her little brother is the one to be burdened with the role of being the protector? Why is he in charge when he's not the older sibling? Tsireya is also a girl, she's around the same age as Kiri, and she trains as a future Tsahik so her role is not primarily to fight, but we see in AFAA that she goes to the battlefield with the other teenagers, and Kiri does not.

And that's kinda weird because even if she simply doesn't want to fight, why should other children have to be warriors but not her? In ATWOW her role as Eywa's Chosen was unknown and she still was exempted of doing her part.

Does anyone have a canon explanation?

​The word "Avatar" originates from the Sanskrit Avatāra, which in Hinduism represents the "incarnation of a deity descending to the human world." It typically refers specifically to the supreme god Vishnu, who, in order to save the world, manifests into various human or animal forms (such as a fish, a man-lion, Rama, Krishna, etc.) to descend into the mortal realm. James Cameron’s sci-fi movie Avatar also draws from this same Sanskrit root.

​The Chinese translation "降世神通" (Jiàng Shì Shén Tōng) was coined by Dr. Siu-Leung Lee, a Hong Kong-American cultural consultant. (I’ll find some time to share my evaluation of him later).

​Breaking Down the Translation:

​"降世" (Jiang Shi): 1. Akin to descending to the mortal realm; 2. To be born. In Buddhism, Jiang Shi refers to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas descending from a higher realm of existence to be born into the human world in order to save all sentient beings.

​"神通" (Shen Tong): (Sanskrit: Abhijñā, Punjabi: Abhiññā), also translated as divine power, supernatural power, or simply Tong. It is a Buddhist term referring to the "Tong" in the "Three Insights and Six Supernatural Powers" (三明六通). It denotes the mysterious, superhuman powers attained through the power of meditative concentration (Dhyana), though it can sometimes just refer to ordinary illusions. This term appears in numerous Buddhist scriptures, such as the Mahasatyatrnirgrantha-sutra and the Shurangama Sutra.

​Originally, it was styled as 「降卋神通」 (卋 is pronounced shì, with the radical "十", originally serving as an archaic variant of "世", meaning thirty years). However, when the series was imported into Taiwan, it was simplified to 「降世神通」 to make it easier to memorize and pronounce.

​The "Korra Fandom" Paradox

​In Mainland China, whenever people mention Jiang Shi Shen Tong, they almost exclusively refer to the first series: Avatar: The Legend of Aang / Avatar: The Last Airbender.

​Consequently, many completely overlook the fact that Avatar: The Legend of Korra (TLOK) belongs to the exact same IP. It has reached a point of absolute absurdity where some "well-meaning" fans have actually tried to dissuade content creators from using the #降世神通 tag when posting about Korra. It truly makes one laugh and cry at the same time.

​Korra’s full name is literally Avatar Korra.

​Whether you love or hate The Legend of Korra, she is an inseparable part of this IP. You cannot bypass this fact—unless you choose to completely deny the existence of any official canon after Aang.

The mystic swamp's Banyan Tree is deeply and spiritually connected to the Avatar.

It was under the shade of this tree (back when it was significantly smaller) that the first Avatar was born (don't talk to me about Wan, I am rejecting his existence)

This created a bond between the tree and the Avatar. The first Avatar later returned to the tree in their old age and passed away there while meditating. Their bones are still buried deep under the roots.